Wednesday, April 12, 2006

It's worth repeating...

From time to time, I get embroiled in liturgical controversies not of my own making, at least, not all the time. The most common one has to do with holding hands during the Our Father. I stopped the practice in my parishes as soon as it was feasible for a couple of reasons, the most essential being that it undercuts the actual source of our unity, the Holy Eucharist.

To that end, I thought I would follow up with this comment from my Catholic Answers e-letter from Karl Keating:"ORIGINS OF HAND-HOLDINGThe current issue of the "Adoremus Bulletin" says this in response to a query from a priest in the Bronx: "No gesture for the people during the Lord's Prayer is mentioned in the official documents. The late liturgist Fr. Robert Hovda promoted holding hands during this prayer, a practice he said originated in Alcoholics Anonymous. Some 'charismatic' groups took up the practice."My long-time sense had been that hand-holding at the Our Father was an intrusion from charismaticism, but I had not been aware of the possible connection with AA. If this is the real origin of the practice, it makes it doubly odd: first, because hand-holding intrudes a false air of chumminess into the Mass (and undercuts the immediately-following sign of peace), and second, because modifications to liturgical rites ought to arise organically and not be borrowed from secular self-help groups.Periodically, on "Catholic Answers Live" I am asked about hand-holding during Mass and explain that it is contrary to the rubrics. Usually I get follow-up e-mails from people who say, "But it's my favorite part of the Mass" or "We hold hands as a family, and it makes us feel closer."About the latter I think, "It's good to feel close as a family, but you can hold hands at home or at the mall. The Mass has a formal structure that should be respected. That means you forgo certain things that you might do on the outside."About the former comment I think, "If this is the high point of the Mass for you, you need to take Remedial Mass 101. The Mass is not a social event. It is the re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary, and it is the loftiest form of prayer. It should be attended with appropriate solemnity.""